Religious or secular, people should take part in civil service: Deputy PM

“Our primary issue should be capability, competence and loyalty to the nation, not the fact that a person who thinks like me should take part in the state. It does not matter whether religious or secular; those who are really capable, competent and loyal to the nation should come and take part in civil service. I hope that the July 15 attack [coup attempt] should lead to such a transformation. In this sense, I think that Turkey will provide a huge benefit. This is our historic matter. Anyone should be able to find a career opportunity under the roof of the state with their opinions, communions, temperaments and political views,” Kurtulmuş said in an interview with private broadcaster Fox TV on Aug. 14.

Kurtulmuş also said no one would need organizations such as the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), which was blamed for orchestrating the coup attempt, as a result of such a transformation.

“Those who consume alcohol and those who do not will come; those whose wife wears a headscarf and those whose wife does not will also come. If you provide such an atmosphere of freedom within civil service, no one will need FETÖ. This is what we have to break primarily. We will provide both democratization and transparency, as there will not be obstacles before political participation,” he said.

Kurtulmuş also suggested all structures across the country should be open and controllable.

“What is important here is that we need to make all those structures open from now on. Anyone can spread their thoughts in this society but those have to be open and controllable. Unfortunately, when you outlaw them, they go underground and all good and evil is intermingled. Turkey should get rid of all of this,” Kurtulmuş said.